Great American patriots, including the late Charlie Kirk have long championed the freedom of speech so thoughtfully codified in the U.S. Constitution. Yet, as legacy media evade any responsibility for fueling violent extremism, the words of Proverbs 12:18 resonate deeply: “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Kirk spoke prolifically about the power of words, grappling with ideas and the absolute necessity of free speech and discourse to heal America. He firmly believed in the First Amendment right to free speech and that Americans exercise their God given natural rights to prevent violent civil war. Kirk died exercising and defending these rights, and it's worth looking back on what he had to say about them.
- “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens. Because you start to think the other side is so evil and that they lose their humanity. Marriages break apart when you stop talking, churches fall apart. … And I think what makes this country on the verge of going to a place we don’t want it to go right now, is we’re afraid to go to places like this and have these conversations.”
- “My position is that even hate speech should be completely and totally allowed in our country. The most disgusting speech should absolutely be protected. … I think that in a civil society, the best ideals will win as long as you have that marketplace. And here’s the real issue: As soon as you shut up ‘hate speech,’ those people only get more powerful. And this is the unintended consequence of censorship. You give more credence to the ‘silenced person’ the moment you shut them up.
- “Elon Musk liberating Twitter will go down as one of the greatest free speech victories in the history of Western civilization. … One of the reasons why the powerful are getting nervous is because we can finally speak again online.”
- "My wish for the left is that you’ll become liberal again and no longer leftist. Free speech is a liberal value. It is not a left-wing value. …as of today, Lucy Connelly is going to jail for two and a half years in this country [Britain] for a social media post that she apologized and deleted about a migrant hotel. That is not a free speech value at all. You should be allowed to say outrageous things. You should be allowed to say contrarian things. Free speech is a birthright that you gave us and you guys decided not to codify it and now it's poof, it's basically gone."
- "[Continued from above, in reference to the Reform party possibly coming into power in Britain] When that happens, do you want Nigel Farage, prime minister, to be able to lock you up if you criticize his government? If your answer is no, then you have a moral obligation to make sure that your prime minister and the MPs advocate for a values-neutral free speech policy. So, regardless of who is in power in this country, you guys can challenge and you guys can speak openly. That is the bedrock of a liberal democracy."
- "By the way, just to be clear, you guys [Britain] have the wrong incitement threshold. In America, you need to have specific time and specific place in order to reach the incitement threshold. Every day, people say, you know, 'Well, someone should go kill Charlie Kirk.' I don't like it, but that's protected speech. In America, we care about what you do, not about what you say."
This week, I'm in Britain, the place that helped birth free speech throughout the world, but is now becoming a totalitarian country. pic.twitter.com/4EBvP40mhW
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 20, 2025
- “Free speech is not just saying what you want to say, but it is having to hear things you don't want to hear.”
Free speech is not just saying what you want to say, but it is having to hear things you don't want to hear.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 11, 2017
Kirk stood as a bastion for free speech, but he was also no stranger to the censorship that resulted from telling people things Big Tech seemingly didn’t want Americans to hear. MRC Free Speech America has recorded eight times he was censored on his personal social media accounts, including when, in 2022, Twitter locked his account because he refused to call former Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine a man. The platform similarly censored Kirk when he spoke out against potential election fraud in Pennsylvania after the 2020 election and when he noted Democrats' unfounded distrust of hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
